Indigenous Business: Indigenous Business Resources

National Center for American Enterprise Development (NCAIED)

After months of conflict and intimidation by non-Indigenous commercial fishermen, Indigenous fishing communities in Canada celebrated a huge win in November when the Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition bought a 50% ownership stake in Clearwater Seafoods, the largest seafood company in Atlantic Canada. This case reviews the groundbreaking acquisition and asks students to discuss the potential for Indigenous coalitions to form similar partnerships in other industries and countries.

Paul Frank Industries (PFI), a privately held company based in the United States, finds itself in hot water after social media criticizes a Hollywood marketing event hosted by PFI in which Native American stereotypes were prominently featured. When photos of the event are released on Facebook, two bloggers bring attention to the event through their social media channels, and the reaction quickly spreads throughout the Native American community and beyond. In the wake of this public relations nightmare, students are asked to reflect on the actions taken by Paul Frank Industries prior to, during and after the marketing event.

After years of criticism, the NFL’s Washington team announced in July 2020 that they would be retiring their racist name. This case covers the decision to engage in rebranding of the team, occurring against the backdrop of massive protests against racial injustice across the United States. Students are asked to discuss why the team is changing their name now, what the team should do in order to move forward in a respectful way, and to ponder the issues related to rebranding, especially as they pertain to offensive brand names.

In 2019, an American couple were travelling the world when they settled in Bali and were employed by Spice Island Cruises (SIC). At the time, SIC was controlled by a venture capitalist who ignored local Indigenous business traditions and measured success with short-term key performance indicators. A collision between the Western and Indonesian organizational cultures resulted, and following a crisis meeting of SIC partners, the venture capitalist sold his share in the company. The American husband was appointed general manager and had only two weeks to prepare an action plan for SIC before taking over. What strategy should he follow to restore the company's reputation and employees' trust and to develop a successful future?

In February 2019, the owner of the Yukon Soaps Company (Yukon Soaps), based in Mayo, Yukon, was contemplating the path forward for her business. Founded in 1998, Yukon Soaps was a provider of hand-crafted artisanal soap featuring Indigenous artwork. Yukon Soaps had been experiencing double-digit annual sales growth over the past several years, and demand was steadily exceeding supply. The owner felt that her business had reached a critical point, and she knew it could not grow without addressing several pressing growth challenges, many unique to its northern context: (1) the cost of sourcing ingredients and shipping them via air freight to Yukon significantly drove up the cost of goods sold; (2) Yukon Soaps' product was currently produced in the owner's basement, which severely limited production capacity; (3) the business currently sold to Yukon retailers, directly to customers through fairs and farmers' markets, and through an online e-commerce platform, and there were significant trade-offs associated with each sales channel. The owner's primary goal was neither revenue nor profit growth, and as the challenges that came with growth threatened her primary goals and values, she was questioning the value of expanding the business. Should she expand Yukon Soaps, or should she remain a small-scale player? How could she address the unique challenges that she faced in Mayo, Yukon?

Toasted Sister Podcast

Indigenous Boom is the Atlantic Policy Congress's new podcast featuring conversations on Indigenous Health, Education and Economic Prosperity.

Showcasing Indigenous Entrepreneurship to the world.

On this Podcast, Host Sunshine Quem Tenasco, a Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg entrepreneur, author and creator of Pow Wow Pitch and Herbraids, interviews some of the most successful Indigenous entrepreneurs, makers and creators to share their stories, learnings, and wisdom to lift us all.